Zhu Lan was utterly puzzled by Qing Luo’s decision to keep Xin Lan.
She was also unwilling to serve the Little Master alongside Xin Lan.
“Isn’t Little Master afraid that Xin Lan will betray her again?”
“I have my own clever plan, Zhu Lan, so don’t worry.”
Since Qing Luo said so, Zhu Lan could only choose to trust her Little Master.
Besides, isn’t there a saying that the most dangerous place is the safest place?
Keeping Xin Lan under their noses was the most secure option.
If Xin Lan really did something wrong, they could catch her red-handed.
Zhu Lan, who thought she understood Qing Luo’s plan, and reassured Qing Luo “Little Master, don’t worry, I will help you keep an eye on Xin Lan and definitely won’t give her a chance to do anything bad.”
Qing Luo was bewildered, looking at Zhu Lan, who had suddenly become excited, as if shouldering a great mission.
She wanted to say that it wasn’t necessary, as with the system’s help, Xin Lan couldn’t cause any trouble.
However, Zhu Lan had already strutted out like a rooster ready for battle, so Qing Luo didn’t call her back.
Xin Lan did indeed stay in the East Courtyard to serve, but she only did odd jobs like sweeping and cleaning.
All matters of close personal service to Qing Luo were still handled by Zhu Lan; she couldn’t get close at all.
Moreover, Zhu Lan and Xiao Guizi were openly ostracizing and isolating her without any pretense.
Xin Lan was like a transparent person in the East Courtyard, with no presence at all.
Qing Luo barely saw her a few times a day.
Xin Lan accepted this calmly, working diligently and conscientiously, but she didn’t actively try to get close to Qing Luo, appearing quite sensible…
As June approached, the weather grew hotter and hotter.
Besides eating and drinking, Qing Luo spent the rest of her time sprawled out like a salted fish, still feeling so hot that she could barely stand it.
She was just a few pinches of salt away from becoming a true salted fish.
She missed modern air conditioning, refrigerators, fans, iced drinks,ice cream… basically, she missed everything that could cool her down and relieve the heat.
In the palace, ice blocks were used for cooling, but ice was a rare commodity.
With Qing Luo’s current rank, she was not yet qualified to use ice; not a single piece was hers.
Without ice, Qing Luo could only try to dress as coolly as possible and rely on a fan constantly.
However, even with Zhu Lan often fanning her, she still felt very hot and restless, not cool at all, as if even the fanned air carried heat.
[Sorry, host, Little Qian currently does not have a cooling service.]
Qing Luo sighed, “Alas, what’s the use of you? You’re useless.”
When will summer end?
She was going to die of heat.
That afternoon, seeing her master looking listless and dispirited, Zhu Lan suggested that Qing Luo go out for a walk.
Staying cooped up in the courtyard all day was not good; it would soon make her feel unwell.
Qing Luo immediately pouted unhappily, “I’m already hot staying indoors, and you want me to go out? Won’t it be even hotter outside?”
“Little Master can go for a walk in the evening. This servant knows a place that’s quite cool, a good spot to enjoy the breeze.”
Upon hearing the words “cool,” Qing Luo perked up.
As long as it was cooler, she would go anywhere, even to the Western Heaven to fetch scriptures.
So that evening, Qing Luo, accompanied by Zhu Lan, left the East Courtyard for the first time, except for paying respects and serving the Emperor.
When it came to familiarity with the palace’s layout, Zhu Lan was much better than Qing Luo.
She led Qing Luo through twists and turns, and Qing Luo, whose sense of direction was already poor, quickly got confused.
Finally, the two arrived at an octagonal pavilion.
“It really is much cooler here.”
Qing Luo spread her arms, feeling the cool breezes blowing towards her.
A smile bloomed between her eyebrows, and she seemed to have come alive, regaining her vitality and energy.
After staying in the octagonal pavilion for about an hour, it was getting dark, and Zhu Lan reminded Qing Luo that it was time to go back.
Thinking of her stuffy room back at the palace, Qing Luo’s small face couldn’t help but fall, filled with melancholy, and she couldn’t help but frown.
She really didn’t want to go back.
She’d rather sleep in this pavilion for a night; it would definitely be cool enough and comfortable enough.
However, that was impossible.
Qing Luo could only reluctantly follow Zhu Lan back.
“Zhu Lan, I mean, can’t we really sleep outside for a night? If you don’t say anything and I don’t say anything, no one will know.”
“No, Little Master, it’s against the rules.”
Rules, rules, always rules.
Qing Luo didn’t know how many times she had heard these two words; they were like a huge mountain pressing down on her, making her almost breathless…
“Zheng Fu, send someone to see who’s over there?” Emperor Zhangping ordered.
He heard rustling movements and people talking.
Zheng Fu bowed in assent and quickly sent a young eunuch to investigate.
A moment later, the young eunuch returned.
“Reporting to Your Majesty, it’s Attendant Pei from Xianfu Palace and her maid.”
The Little Attendant?
Emperor Zhangping thought it was quite a coincidence; in such a vast imperial palace, they happened to meet here.
At this moment, Emperor Zhangping harbored no suspicion.
To gain favor, besides ‘chance’ encounters in the Imperial Garden, some bold concubines in the harem dared to spy on the Emperor’s whereabouts, attempting an ‘unintentional’ romantic rendezvous, hoping to catch Emperor Zhangping’s eye.
Emperor Zhangping had encountered many such incidents.
He detested them and had dealt with many people for this, making an example of them.
The concubines in the harem had indeed become more well-behaved, but some were still willing to seek wealth in danger, to take a gamble, hoping a bicycle could turn into a motorcycle.
However, Emperor Zhangping had suddenly wanted to come to this place to relax today.
He had specifically chosen a very secluded spot and brought only his trusted confidants.
He believed that no concubine had the ability to win over his confidants to serve her and relay information to her.
“Let’s go, see what the Little Attendant is doing? Perhaps she’s up to no good?”
His tone carried a hint of mockery, as if the Little Attendant’s impression on him was that she was always up to mischiefs.
“Your Majesty?”
Emperor Zhangping and his entourage suddenly appeared startling Qing Luo.
Her voice rose by an octave, and she instinctively wanted to knee down.
Even though she hadn’t done anything wrong, she felt inexplicably guilty.
Oh, right.
Usually, at this hour, concubines would have returned to their residences; few would still be wandering outside.
No wonder she felt guilty.
“Why do you always kneel? Do not do this in the future.” Emperor Zhangping frowned slightly and personally reached out to help Qing Luo up.
With the Son of Heaven personally assisting her, Qing Luo naturally got up quickly.
“Is Your Majesty also here to enjoy the cool air?”
Also?
Emperor Zhangping raised an eyebrow.
“I came here to relax. I didn’t know one could come here to enjoy the cool air. I didn’t realize where in my imperial palace was cool, but Beloved Consort seems to know better than I do.”